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The future of an illusion – the illusion of the future an historic dialogue on the value of religion between Oskar Pfister and Sigmund Freud
Author(s) -
Malony H. Newton,
North Gerald
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
journal of the history of the behavioral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1520-6696
pISSN - 0022-5061
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6696(197904)15:2<177::aid-jhbs2300150209>3.0.co;2-6
Subject(s) - oskar , illusion , value (mathematics) , psychoanalysis , philosophy , psychology , epistemology , sociology , art , cognitive psychology , art history , machine learning , computer science
Between 1908 and 1939 Sigmund Freud and Oskar Pfister engaged in a lively dialogue on the dynamics and value of religion. This is an account of that dialogue replete with excerpts from their letters. Freud held a negative view: for him religion was an illusion that had no future. Pfitser viewed religion positively, seeing it as the only illusion with a future. The major differences in their positions are noted and the contemporary import of these issues is suggested.